That Which a Rose
by scrappster
Summary: During the peace after Buu, everything seems to be going wonderfully for the Brief family. But when Bulma starts to learn more about her beloved Prince, things take a turn for the worst. And Lord only knows how it all will end
1. The Beginning

**That Which a Rose**

**_The Beginning  
_**

**AN** – _Ok, so I randomly decided to change this story a bit (for those who remember it). It's based after Buu a few years, and instead of being a largely romance based fic, this'll end up being more like a mix of angst, suspense, horror, psycological thriller-ness, and romance. :D  
_

"Good morning Vegeta."

"Morning Bulma. You going to take a shower after breakfast?"

"Not enough time. We have to leave by 8:30, remember?"

The conversation was so light, and the attitude that filled the air was all but normal. A warm, inviting glow filled their kitchen and all the gentle creatures within lazily bustled about their usual business. The main woman of the household placed food before her absent-minded husband as he sipped a cup of steaming coffee and brushed up on the news with a paper in hand. Bulma, their only daughter, was brushing aside her own daughter's hair as Trunks shoved the last few chunks of cereal into his mouth. Vegeta sat off to the side, chewing quietly on eggs and meat, as though he owned the place in a purely reserved fashion, and everything within the kitchen seemed normal as normal could be.

What a life, eh? The richest man in the world as her father and the prince of all the Saiyans as her lover. She still couldn't really believe how everything had played out. How _did_ she manage to get Vegeta to stay with her anyway? He had always been a rowdy, cold-hearted man, yet as he patted his daughter's head, Bulma couldn't help but wonder in warm awe. He had changed so much, so drastically, and it had been for her and the family she created. Vegeta looked up as Bra ran off to watch a little more tv, and he grunted characteristically towards her, hardly even glancing away from his plate to speak.

"It's impolite to stare, you know."

Bulma smiled and ripped a chunk out of her apple.

"It's impolite to not look at someone when you're talking to them."

Her voice tingled with soft mockery, and his dark eyes glinted with a subdued mischievousness at her words. He suppressed a soft snort and continued eating.

"You're tongue will kill you, Dearest."

She laughed at him and shook her head softly.

"Whatever. Look, I need to take Bra to Jenny's for the day. You're still meeting the realtor at 11, right?"

He nodded nonchalantly and waved his hand towards her.

"Yes yes, and I'll make sure to pick her up at 3, and get them both in bed by 9. Don't worry, you've all done this a million times, I can handle it."

Bulma smiled as she thrust a few loose papers into a black portfolio. Bunny had just left the room to finish packing for their little trip, and Dr. Briefs was finishing off his final cup.

"Dad, you've got the presentations on your laptop, right?"

He nodded as he stood and rubbed his mustache.

"Yes Dear, no worries. I just have to go find it real quick."

"Well hurry, the plane leaves in an hour and you know how traffic is up there."

He waved to his daughter and hobbled off mumbling something, and Bulma turned her attention back upon her husband.

"You've got the emergency numbers?"

A nod was given as he chewed on another sliver of bacon.

"And you know where the money is I've left you? And make sure that when you pick up Bra you–"

"Alright, alright!"

He chuckled at her and continued before she could overwhelm him with more information he already knew.

"Can't a man eat in peace, Woman? I'm not a child, I can take care of things for a few days, no problem."

She smiled at him and nodded, her façade less confident and vivacious as normal, and grabbed another random fruit from the basket.

"Alright. Take care."

She practically leapt from her place and paused for a moment to give Vegeta an unwanted peck on the check. He grumbled playfully and as she straightened up quickly, she looked down at him with teasing eyes.

"Don't burn down the house or anything until I get back, alright?"

A primal grin washed over his face and he swiped at her backside, missing purposefully and grumbling at her while turning back to his plate.

"Get your father in the car or you'll never make it."

"Right, bye Vegeta."

With that, she was out of the room, and after a few more minutes of distant hustle, silence resumed with only the hum of a forgotten television singing in the background. Vegeta's eyes faded slightly, but suddenly grew darker as he refocused upon his skimpy plate of food. Egg, ham, toast, swimming in a sweet, syrupy liquid. An earthly feast for an earthly king. He poked at the items, his eyes growing darker with each passing moment, and he bowed his head, as though in shame, and listened despondently as the car rumbled down the driveway and rushed off to the airport.

Rage exploded from within him, and he furiously swept off the abandoned plates and cups. The china crashed all around him as he leapt to his feet, standing like a tiger before flipping the table through his rage. He stood, glaring heatedly down at the damaged table as specks of dust danced sorrowfully in the light that graced his hair. The tv laughed, faintly, distantly, as shards fell and settled around the feet of a defeated, forgotten Prince.


	2. Chop Suey

**That Which A Rose**

_**Chop Suey**_

**AN – **_Wow, I got quite a bit of response for the last chapter. xD Didn't expect that, since I was just bored and had an inspiration to do something different. Anyway, I typed this up because…well, you guys want more, and I was bored. xD _

Big, thick bags plopped heavily to the floor, and Bulma smiled contently at the welcoming scent of her home. It was three in the morning, and they had gotten back earlier then she expected. The business deal had gone perfectly, and now her stress and worries were calmed. She closed the door without even bothering to lock it, and started to a small end table. She brushed off her jewelry and kicked off her shoes, ignoring the small stack of mail that hadn't been there before. With a quick movement, she loosened her hair and let the blue locks fall about her shoulders. With a refreshing shake, she started towards the kitchen and flipped on the light, taking enough effort to keep quiet for those still sleeping.

She walked inside, ignoring the massive pile of Chinese boxes and silverware that were scattered over the table, and grabbed a semi-full box that sat on the counter as though it had been waiting just for her. She popped it into the microwave and she waited, sucking on a spoon, as the white and red box slowly turned around and around inside.

"Ahem."

Bulma gasped at the sound and spun around to see Vegeta leaning against the doorway in his normal bed-shorts and a pair of socks. She breathed a sigh of relief, yet quickly shot back a quick remark.

"Don't scare me like that Vegeta. What are you doing up?"

"More like what are you doing back?"

She smiled to herself.

"The deal went better than anyone expected. We signed it off in under 3 hours. I couldn't believe my luck, but then again, I am an amazing business-woman."

Pride glistened within her sapphire eyes when suddenly, her little 'moment' was interrupted by the microwave. She opened it to stir the contents quickly, and with a quick tasting, she shut the door again and the droll hum kicked up once more. She turned back to her husband, who had been quietly watching her the whole time. She raised an eyebrow at him, and Vegeta spoke up, as uncharacteristic as it may or may not have been.

"Trunks didn't finish it. And you know I don't like chop suey."

Bulma smiled and nodded, shrugging lightly with his comment. It seemed a bit odd that he was trying to make small talk, but she reminded herself that he wasn't completely unknown for doing so.

"It's alright. It's perfect for a quick snack before bed. What are you doing up, anyway?"

Vegeta nodded, looking down to the ground quickly and hardly shrugging his shoulders. Bulma's eyes swept over his chiseled form, checking quickly to see if maybe he had simply been caught up in a training session. She looked back up at him curiously, along with a touch of concern beginning to spark within her gaze, once she saw no signs of such. She waited for a response, yet after a prolonged silence, she spoke up once more.

"Did you hear me come in? I didn't think I made that much noise."

"Of course you didn't. I was already up."

She looked at him quizzically, yet the microwave beeped again and she diverted her attention. With a quick stir and taste, she dubbed the banquet perfect and started shoveling small spoonfuls of rice and chicken into her mouth.

"I gave Jenny that notice you wanted me to give her."

Bulma moaned a little as she chewed and nodded, and Vegeta continued.

"And Trunks has a test tomorrow. I made him study a bit tonight, but I'm sure he'll do fine."

Bulma nodded again, twitching for a moment because of a piece of chicken that was hotter then she expected, but she resumed her composure and finally swallowed.

"Sounds fine to me. Did you make sure to schedule that next appointment with the realtor so that Mom and Dad can talk to them?"

Vegeta nodded, and Bulma leaned up against the counter to continue eating in more comfort.

"For next Tuesday at 3. A good time?"

"Perfect. So why are you up again?"

"I thought it was a good time too, seeing as how your father has to see off the first shift and all. Plus, the only other time was at 9 in the morning, or on Thursday."

Bulma moaned and furrowed her brows, and Vegeta nodded to show his understanding.

"Yeah, I'm glad I remembered your mother's show was Thursday. I was about to pick it."

Bulma straightened away, her eyes narrowed slightly upon her husband, and she started to walk towards him while still eating bits of food. Vegeta continued.

"He seems like a nice enough man. A bit fake, but what realtor isn't? He's a bit pricey, but he has good taste, and he knows his stuff. He even went to the extent to…what the Hell is your problem, Woman?"

Bulma had come so close as to stop directly in front of him, which obviously caused quite the reaction. She smiled, quickly swallowing her food, but her eyes narrowed as she pointed at Vegeta with her spoon.

"You haven't answered my question yet, Buster. Why the Hell are you up, and quit procrastinating in hopes that I'll forget. You don't just wander the house at night while everyone else is asleep, do you?"

"On occasion."

She snorted sarcastically and jabbed her spoon at him again.

"You're funny Vegeta, real funny."

She paused and set back, digging into the leftover Chinese again and watching him with sharp, crystal eyes.

"So?"

His eyes narrowed darkly, without much of an apparent reason, and he straightened tightly away from the wall.

"You know I'm a light sleeper, I heard you."

"The door was wide open Vegeta."

"I heard your car."

"I was dropped off at the curb by a taxi. Mom and Dad have the car."

"You're noisy."

"You're a tight ass."

His lip tightened and rose slightly, and his glare intensified on her yet no reply came. He turned around and waved at her, grumbling to himself as he started to walk off. Bulma screeched and jumped a few steps after him.

"Hey, don't you walk away from me! I was just asking a question. If you came home in the middle of the night and found me wandering around, you'd wonder too."

He whipped around, stopping himself hardly an inch from Bulma's face. She gasped quietly but pulled back and glared at him. She was used to him doing that by now.

"No, I wouldn't, because I know that in a situation like that, you'd be up because you were wondering where I was, and then you'd persist to carry on and on even if I had a reason to be gone."

She set back on her hips, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before snapping back.

"You never have reasons to be gone, so of course I'd be like that. But that's not the point."

A new tactic entered her mind, and she instantly and smoothly put it to use. Her glare dissipated and she spun around on her heels, facing her back to him as she poked at the mixture in her box.

"Must be something cute, like the Boogie monster, and you're just too scared to admit it. That's ok, at least I know what it is now."

She would have killed to see his expression right then and there. She imagined that it consisted of two things. Embarrassment and pure shock. She couldn't help but smile when she heard him trying to speak but could only squeak and honk while searching for the right words. He snapped down his foot and pointed a hard finger at her.

"I wouldn't be scared of something as idiotic and imaginary as that."

She spun around elegantly on her heels and eyed him with clever, confident eyes.

"Then what? Is there a psychopath that sneaks around our house at night, and you two like to sit around the table and drink coffee while talking about the problems with women?"

"Yeah, his name is Henry and he thinks you talk too much."

"I'd love to meet him."

He snorted, and Bulma, growing frustrated by the second, rolled her eyes and head, refocusing on Vegeta. She thrashed her spoon in his general direction, her voice harder now.

"I don't ask these things to learn deep, dark secrets about you Vegeta. I ask them so that I can help you. You know, like if you were scared of the dark, we could put up nightlights."

"That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard."

"It was an example, Vegeta. Look, I don't want you to be unhappy while you're here. Who knows–"

"–I might get pissed off and blow the crap out of everything and bring the literal example of Hell into the middle of East City?"

"No! I wasn't going to say that."

"Maybe not in those exact words, but–"

"Damn it, even if I was, it's a damn good reason, don't you think?"

"No."

She sighed exasperatedly and turned around. She stared down at the box she was still holding, and she shook her head softly. Vegeta was still standing behind her, watching her curiously and with that cute concern he sometimes had whenever he thought he had gone too far. Bulma swished around the box, and set it down harshly upon the counter, which was enough of an extension from the kitchen to be within reaching distance.

"Vegeta, I just don't understand why you feel the need to close yourself off from me. You like to act as though I'm totally clueless about anything and everything 'Vegeta', but I know more then you think."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

She turned around, folding her arms across her chest and watching him with steady eyes.

"You're up because you keep having nightmares."

His eyes widened only the slightest touch, so she continued before he had a heart attack right then and there.

"I have no idea what they're about."

He relaxed again, realizing that he getting out of bed probably had awakened her a few times in the past. However, she spoke again, her blue gaze icy as death upon his own dark, trepid gaze.

"But I do know _who_ they're about."

She spoke this carefully, understanding her husband's paranoia towards people knowing too much about him. His eyes widened again slightly, though they quickly narrowed, almost as though they were suspicious of her, and he carefully spoke.

"Like…who, exactly?"

"Nappa, Frieza, Bra, me, Goku, Trunks, Mr. T, the Culigan man, Chewbacca… Must I honestly go on?"

His eyes widened, though more from befuddlement than fear, and he rose an eyebrow.

"Do you watch me when I sleep or something?"

"Ha! You do dream about Mr. T! Thanks for helping me win a bet, Vegeta."

He glared at her, and she giggled before waving her hand and resuming seriousness.

"No, you just talk really loud. Not for very long, but if I get in late and you're already in bed, sometimes I can hear you talking."

"I do not talk in my sleep."

"Yes you do, I've heard you like, a bazillion times."

He coughed out a laugh and shook his head, leaning back and eyeing her.

"I've slept in the same room as many people, some that never even slept, and they all said I don't sleep talk."

"Maybe they were just lying because they thought you were funny."

"They wouldn't have lied to me, Bulma."

"Why not?"

"Because I would have blown off they're fucking heads if they did."

She laughed and waved at him again.

"Oh god Vegeta, you're so funny. That's why you're up though, isn't it? Because of a dream?"

His eyes narrowed upon her, and he leaned back a little, obviously not sure how to answer. She smiled with an appreciative confidence and nodded. He made a move, maybe as though to say something or do something, yet she turned again and grabbed her abandoned snack before turning back to Vegeta.

"You always have them, or is that just a 'peace-time' thing for you?"

He glared at her question, seeming as though he wouldn't respond, and she smiled encouragingly again.

"Hey, look, I'm just curious. If you don't want to say, then don't."

"I don't."

"So it's a common thing? You know, dreams aren't bad. People always have them. Most think that they are portrayals of your life, just in simpler terms to help you figure whatever's bothering you out."

"Doubtful."

"No, it's true. Like, I kept having this dream where these three guys would chase me down an alley. I'd always wake up right before they'd overwhelm me. I couldn't figure out what it meant for a while, but then I remembered that I had decided to cut about a thousand jobs. I didn't realize it, but I felt really guilty for doing that. After I realized it, I stopped having the dream. As easy as that."

Vegeta snorted and turned himself sideways. His eyes rested on the ground quietly, yet he glanced to the side and sighed deeply.

"The subconscious is much more difficult then that. And if it isn't for humans, then it is for Saiyans."

"I wasn't saying it was simple, it just tries to make our _problems_ simpler."

He rolled his eyes, though he was thankful for the cover of darkness.

"Look, it's 3:30 in the morning Bulma. I'm tired, and I know you're tired. Can we talk about this later?"

Bulma blinked, pausing in mid-chew with a touch of surprise. 'Can we talk about this later'? She nodded slowly, taken aback by his sudden change, and with her nod, he turned swiftly and disappeared amongst the shadows of the halls.

Well, she had certainly never heard that before, and though it was relieving to finally hear it, she wondered if maybe there was something that bothered him so greatly that he would 'risk' his privacy for help. Or, maybe she had just finally gotten across to him that he could come to her for help, which she knew he needed desperately. Whatever it was, she couldn't really tell. He hadn't been acting different from normal, not even in the slightest bit. He was just Vegeta, and Vegeta did weird things that were…well, things that Vegeta did. She smiled and shoved a chunk of chicken into her mouth, realizing suddenly that he was changing, and for the better. He had finally accepted that he had a problem, and he trusted her enough to begin taking the first steps. What the problem was though, she didn't know. But she couldn't wait to find out.


End file.
